Recent state decisions enable return of Yanukovych entourage

The Central Election Commission (CEC) ruled on July 2
to register Andriy Kliuyev, the Presidential Administration head during the
peak of the violence of the EuroMaidan protests, as a parliamentary candidate representing
a single-mandate district in the Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk region. The
decision was based on a lack of documents proving the Kliuyev has been living
abroad for an extended period, said Deputy CEC Head Yevhen Radchenko, as
reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. This proof would have potentially
disqualified him, he said. Kliuyev served as a leader in the defunct of Party
of Regions before becoming secretary of the National Security and Defense
Council under Yanukovych. His first deputy head at the Presidential
Administration during the EuroMaidan protests was Andriy Portnov, who was
identified as a longtime friend by Andriy Bohdan,
the head of the Presidential Office of Zelensky. Several hundred protesters
gathered on the maidan after the decision to oppose it.

Yuriy Ivaniushchenko, a former MP of the defunct Party
of Regions and close associate to former President Viktor Yanukovych, has been
removed from the Most Wanted list of the Internal Affairs Ministry, the
pravda.com.ua news site reported on July 2. A National Police spokesman said
the decision was based on a June resolution by the Odesa regional prosecutor’s
office to close its criminal case against Ivaniushchenko, who has been reported
by the news site to have been deeply involved in numerous expensive corruption
schemes. He was subsequently removed from the police’s Most Wanted list on June
27.

Zenon Zawada: It’s
apparent that the Yanukovych entourage is attempting to reinsert itself into
Ukrainian political and business life. It is doing this by achieving favorable
rulings in courts and key state bodies. Recent statements made by Zelensky
campaign sponsor Ihor Kolomoisky and Presidential Office Head Andriy Bohdan
indicate that the Zelensky administration is willing tolerate these attempts to
a large extent if they’re accomplished by legal methods (though Ukraine’s
courts and state bodies remain vulnerable to corruption).

So we can expect the Yanukovych entourage to
gradually reorganize itself, in form or another, and to renew its activities,
which we view as a threat to establishing rule of law and advancing Ukraine’s
Euro-Atlantic integration. It’s still not clear whether Kliuyev will be allowed
to run, as the Internal Affairs Ministry submitted additional evidence today.
His return to parliament would be an embarrassment for not only the
administration of former President Poroshenko, but a slap in the face to the
millions of Ukrainians who supported the EuroMaidan protests.